Skype to Be Integrated Into Windows 8, Says Skype CEO

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. - A year ago Microsoft bought Skype, the video chat and calling software company, for $8.5 billion. But the first real integration between the companies looks like it will come with Windows 8.

"We are going to double down on Windows 8," Skype's CEO, Tony Bates, said at the All Things D conference here. While he wouldn't reveal much more and told interviewer Kara Swisher she would have to "wait and see," he did add that there are "great integration points in terms of the product."

Bates said that there are now 250 million Skype users; up from 170 million since Microsoft's acquisition.

Today Microsoft announced the Release Preview of Windows 8, a version computer-savvy people can download into existing devices. It doesn't have any deeper Skype integration than older Windows versions, but there's plenty of time for it to be added before the expected release of the full Windows 8 later this year.